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Relevance of Philippine policies for muslim-friendly ecotourism

management in adapting the climate change challenges
To cite this article: M Tagoranao and A Gamon 2019 IOP Conf. Ser.: Earth Environ. Sci. 348 012012

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ICFAES 2019 IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science 348 (2019) 012012 doi:10.1088/1755-1315/348/1/012012

Relevance of Philippine policies for muslim-friendly

ecotourism management in adapting the climate change
challenges

M Tagoranao1*, A Gamon2
1
Faculty of Syariah and Law, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia, Negeri Sembilan 71800,
Malaysia
2
Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences, International Islamic
University Malaysia, Selangor 53100, Malaysia

*Email: mariam@usim.edu.my

Abstract. The impact of climate change on the natural environment has been a common case
affecting the ecotourism management in Mindanao. There are many challenges and threats
facing the ecotourism development, in particular, mitigating natural hazard and preserving a
Muslim-friendly environment. The government needs policies for sustainable development, by
improving an efficient use of natural resources and infrastructures for less greenhouse gas
emissions (GHG), and provide permissible services and livelihood for poverty reduction to help
the realizations of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Developing the Muslim-friendly
ecotourism destinations, particularly in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Muslim Regions
(BARMM) can overshadow the environmental risk and it will provide economic development
and health protection to the local people and the tourists. The findings will show that aside from
the Tourism Act 2009 and the climate Change Act (Republic Act 9729), the presence of well-
formulated policies and guidelines on ecotourism in adapting the climate change will widen the
possibilities for the people to further benefit from ecotourism development. In conclusion, it is of
great importance that in facing the climate changes, the government must have strict
environmental standards compounded by strict enforcement. However, for paradigm shift, it is
necessary to be reminded that “we have to accept the evils of global development along with its
blessings”.

1. Introduction
Mindanao is the second largest island among the thousands of islands scattered in the Philippine-
Malay Archipelago. It is an island composed of many regions, including the newly established
Bangsamoro Autonomous Regions of Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), with undisturbed and
uncontaminated sceneries as well as a unique existing cultural way of life that has been turned into
ecotourism destinations. The ecotourism becomes globally competitive for its ability to conserve the
natural environments and cultural heritage of the Muslim minorities, the natives and other indigenous
communities. Ecotourism attractions found in the provinces of Mindanao become a green investment
for the government tourism programs.
Ecotourism is a kind of nature-based tourism niches suitable for Muslim locals and international
tourists. Muslim-friendly ecotourism involves the visitation of the natural and greenish environment,
the flora and fauna as well as understanding and appreciating the traditional culture of the Muslims
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ICFAES 2019 IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science 348 (2019) 012012 doi:10.1088/1755-1315/348/1/012012

and other indigenous people. Indeed, most of the ecotourism destinations that have been developed in
Mindanao have rich marine biodiversity which helps to boost the growing tourism industry in the
country. Muslim-friendly tourism has a wide scope, it is not only with a halal or permissible
environment but also with halal services, foods, transportations and other tour supplies.
There are two assets that reinforce the prosperity of the Philippine Muslim-friendly tourism
industry: the cultural life of the different Muslim tribes in the BARMM and the spatial location for
having suitable ecotourism destinations. Climate change has a strong impact on the tourists’ decision,
motivation and satisfaction, especially on high-risk tourist destinations that are exposed to high
pollution growth, social inequality for the indigenous people, health problems, transportations, and
infrastructure degradations. Therefore, there is a need for the government to address the importance of
ecotourism policies that can overshadow the environmental risk in the region.

2. Research Method
The study opted to use the descriptive research method to determine the relevance of the government
policies for Muslim-friendly ecotourism in adapting the climate change challenges. Since the nature of
the study is to understand the existing legislations, it is therefore imperative that an intensive survey
on current studies and literatures related to comprehensive policies and guidelines for ecotourism
management have been consulted. In addition, the study maintains the importance of inter library
resources for the collection of both primary and secondary data, multidisciplinary resources i.e,
postgraduate published and unpublished thesis and research works, law books, annual reports,
newspapers, and articles from scholarly journals. An additional type of sources, such as information
from e-books, and other related sources that may enhance the understanding on the subject matter.
Field works and projects conducted by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources
(DENR) in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), particularly, the Lanao Del Sur
ecotourism destinations have been highlighted and examined carefully. Other data were collected and
analysed from the research done by some competent experts and authorities from the College of
Forestry and Environmental Studies, and College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics of the
Mindanao State University. Related development projects on climate change by the local government
and other international organisations have been studied including the Capacity Development Project
for the Bangsamoro Development Plan for the Bangsamoro” which was created by the Philippine
Government with the Japanese International Cooperative Agency for reconstruction and disaster
management. Other data have been collected on the on-going and previous projects under the Japan-
Bangsamoro initiatives on rehabilitation and development in strengthening people resiliency on
climate change. These projects are deemed flexible and relevant to the Philippine Government
policies, guidelines and regulations for mitigating calamities and climate change.

3. Results and Discussions

3.1. On the impact of climate change
The sustainability of Muslim-friendly ecotourism depends on the continued well-being of the
environments and natural resources. Mindanao has rich natural resources which could provide an
essential ecosystem service to the people. The government was able to find out some of the existing
impacts of climate change which will be an issue in the development of ecotourism such as; places
where groundwater is contaminated, pollution from solid waste, and deterioration of land and water
resources due to erosion, drought and unpredictable weather patterns. Pollution from waste disposal
becomes the main problem by the people of Mindanao as it brings environmental degradation.
Although, Philippines has its own solid waste management (SWM) under Republic Act 9003
(RA9003) or known as “Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000” but it was not fully
complied with by the local governments of the previous Autonomous Regions of Muslim Mindanao.
The polluted environment has been ignored in spite of the warning issued by the Department of
Environment and Natural Resources for possible legal action as mandated by Sec. 50 of RA 9003 that
any agency that failed to comply can be charged administratively under Republic Act 7160 and other

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IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science 348 (2019) 012012 doi:10.1088/1755-1315/348/1/012012

enforceable local laws and regulations. In addition to that, climate change is bringing unstable weather
patterns and larger storms, putting increased stress on Mindanao’s political and economic stability.
Another impact of climate change is the biodiversity in the BARMM that has been for many years
considered at an alarming rate of losing a hundred kinds of species in its different geographical
locations. Fauna and flora have been listed as part of the most threatened species in the island. The
risks have been identified in declared national parks in the province of Lanao del Sur, particularly in
Lake Dapao due to lack of protection and failure to improve wildlife conservations in the area. A
research conducted by one of the students from Mindanao State University found out the existing
threats and conservation status of bird species, and critical habitats in the lakeshore and riparian
ecosystems of Lake Dapao [1]. Republic Act 4190 recognised the Lake Dapao as national park to be
under the protection of the national government. The lake with its natural green beauty is surrounded
by forest vegetation. In the eastern side of the Lake is the beautiful Mount Baya, the so-called “lifeless
volcano” due to its inactive status based on the finding of the Philippine Institute of volcano and
Seismology. Government project management on Lake Dapao-Mt. Baya ecotourism was
implemented through the PAMANA Program for National Greening Program (NGP). However, the
project was mainly on physical development, such as the establishment of an information centre,
comfort rooms, viewing shed and concrete pathways [2]. The formulation of local disaster risk
reduction plan proposed in the PAMANA Program was not mentioned in the implementation report of
the project.
In the southwestern Mindanao, people are facing threats brought by climate change and chemical
pollutions, and if not addressed at once by the authority, it will affect the rich biodiversity and the
communities [3]. It was found out that almost no forest left in the nine watersheds in Liguashan
Marsh when the topsoil in uplands are washed by rains causing heavy pollution of the rivers and
flooding the nearby communities. More than half of the Liguashan Marsh area has been used for
farming plantation and it becomes ideal for local farmers’ habitation. It has been reported that the
marshland contains natural gas and oil deposit worth hundreds of billions of dollars as confirmed by a
local oil company. Aside from the presence of gas, marshland supports a great variety of rare species
of birds, reptiles, and fishes. For climate resiliency, people urged the authority to preserve the rich
natural resources and to develop their community into an ecotourism destinations. Several activities
have been proposed and initiated to protect and improve the marshland resources from climate change,
such as recycling the water hyacinths to avoid clogs on the rivers, making the rivers deep as a source
of irrigation and to utilize the reforested areas as carbon sink in a combating climate change [3].
In the province of Tawi-Tawi, the natural resources have been put at risk due to environmental
issues caused by man’s activities, ineffective policies and regulations as well as climate changes. Lack
of environment management brings out the waste disposal from burning and throwing garbage in the
rivers and the sea. The local government tried to cope up with these challenges through new
development and reform projects to reduce both human and natural disasters risks. Eco-tourism
project on marine species has been developed in Tawi-Tawi’s Turtle Island to protect and preserve one
of the world’s major nesting sites of green sea turtles to help sustain community-based tourism
enterprises in the country’s southernmost frontier. The island provinces of BARMM including Tawi-
Tawi have promoted the greening program for mangrove rehabilitation to areas that have been
identified for reforestation, particularly, those that are perennially flooded and were badly hit by recent
typhoons and sites that are near critical coastal areas and river systems [4]. Having known the serious
effect of the uncontrolled waste disposal to the environment, the local government and non-
government organisations have actively formed a cleaned up drive in the surrounding areas to reduce
the greenhouse gases that caused the global warming of the earth. This program is in accordance with
the ecological solid waste management program under RA 9003.
Climate change is related not only to environmental factors but also to poverty, discrimination, and
inequalities, including women’s lack of rights to exercise powers in the society. A long drought
period can be the most important cause of poverty as people will suffer from hunger and
impoverishment. Local people who relied on agricultural output will be affected as water is a key

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ICFAES 2019 IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science 348 (2019) 012012 doi:10.1088/1755-1315/348/1/012012

input for most agricultural outputs [5]. The Cotabato province, the northeastern of BARMM, was
seriously affected by the El Nino weather in 2016 when the rich farm fields and ponds became dry and
the livestock, such as buffaloes, cows, and goats were dying for lack of foods. However, these
farmlands have the market potential for having some unique tourist attractions that can be developed
into natural agricultural-ecotourism destinations, if the government can properly address and assess
the people in facing climate change. A study revealed that other countries proved that ecotourism
helps to reduce the local people poverty. Miller, the writer, emphasized that the inclusion of local
people in the success of ecotourism is important because one of the most significant indicators of the
long-term sustainability of ecotourism is its ability to reduce poverty [6]. There will be a higher
growth of rate of tourism if the government can introduce more development on Muslim-friendly
ecotourism in Mindanao. In fact, there are many significant tourist destinations in the Muslim
provinces that will influence the tourists’ decision and satisfaction. As halal tourism becomes globally
famous, creating Muslim-friendly ecotourism can be a part of a development strategy to include local
people for sustainable small-scale operation of an ecotourism industry. It will become sustainable in
BARMM for its ability to provide additional livelihood to farmers and fishermen who used to depend
on their day to day sustenance in farming a dried fields and fishing in the polluted rivers.

3.2. Government policies and guidelines on ecotourism management

Relevant policies and guidelines on ecotourism management and climate change are based on the
mandate of the State to protect the people’s right to a balanced and healthful ecology. One of the best
known Acts to deal with climate change issues was the Climate Change Act of 2009 (R.A. 9729) by
adopting the specific goal of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC)
on the stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent
dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system. With this Act, the national government
established the National Framework Strategy on Climate Change and the National Climate Change
Action Plan to serve as the bases for climate change planning, research and development, and
harmonisation of related policies and institutions [7]. In addition, the local authorities were recognised
to formulate planning and the implementation of climate change action plans in their respective areas.
In Davao, the local government imposed an action to confront any vital threat to the ecosystem. As an
example, there is a new policy that strictly charges penalty for trekkers who do not follow the rules
and regulations, particularly those who climbed Mt. Apo and left tons of garbage in their trail.
Awareness on reducing the disaster risk as a result of climate change has been enhanced by the
national authority through the passing of the “Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management
Act of 2010” (DRRM). DRRM has been included in the Medium-Term Philippine Development Plan,
2011-2016. While issues related to tourism can be reconciled with the Philippines’ Tourism Act 2009
(Republic Act 9593). This law impliedly gives power to the Department of Tourism to provide a halal
integrated market program including the Muslim-friendly ecotourism management development to
attract Muslim tourists and enhance the Philippine’s global status in the Muslim international
community.
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) policy has been integrated in the Philippine
local development planning and programme implementation. The aspiration to eradicate poverty
has been adopted for ecotourism development. It has a significant and remarkable gain in Tawi-Tawi
and Lanao del Sur (e.g. Lake Dapao-Mount Baya) as well as in Puerto Princessa, Palawan, the well-
known ecotourism capital of the Philippines. The local people who used to kill dolphins and turtles
and damaging the local coral reef for their own livelihood were able to realize after trained as
ecotourism guides that it is more valuable to leave them for tourist attractions than as a source of life
[8]. They turned to develop ecotourism as a path for resiliency and disaster mitigation. Ecotourism
helps to alleviate poverty among the local and indigenous people. It becomes an instrument for them
to understand the significance of preserving the life of marine species and the conservation of forest
and environment. They are able to adopt and practice the sustainable green development concept. For
poverty reduction, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) conducted a capacity building

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ICFAES 2019 IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science 348 (2019) 012012 doi:10.1088/1755-1315/348/1/012012

program for farmers in Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur to learn the proper way of farm plantation and
self-cultivation to develop their productivity and livelihood [9]. Aside from agricultural projects in the
BARMM, JICA helps to provide rehabilitation of the irrigation system and other means of combating
disasters and climate change.
The government has been providing strong support in meeting the necessary assistance through
strategic policies and planning to reduce the negative impact of climate change. But in spite of that,
the overall development for climate change adaptation and mitgation, specially for ecotourism has not
been fully attended. Some islands are still suffering from an annual basis of severe typhoons, flood,
GHG, polluted water, and other bad weather events. These are the adverse effect of climate changes
that potentially affect the tourists’ choice and decision for holiday destinations. It also stripped away
the livelihood of the local people who are dependent to the tourism industry and the forest
conservation. It was found out that the problem is not the government lack of preparation for climate-
related risks but the failure to implement projects and other activities for climate change management.
The government does not provide a strict policy for a low-carbon growth transformation in order to
reduce the greenhouse gas emissions created by tourists’ long-distance transportations (aircraft, cruise
ships, and cars), people over-reliance to fossil fuels and open burning of grasses and trees.

4. Conclusions
The study has analysed the importance of government policies affecting the Muslim-friendly
ecotourism management in adapting the climate change in the BARMM. To ensure the relevance of
the government policies with regards to sustainable development, the best practices that have been
adopted by other regions, which are consistent with the mandate of sustainable development, should
be introduced in order to redress issues related to environmental risks, man-made and natural disasters,
and poverty reduction caused by climate change. While having a well-crafted policies, the BARMM
needs to impose strict environmental standards compounded by strict enforcement to attain the
aspirations for a sustainable development in the region. Therefore, convergence of ideas related to
ecotourism and climate change must be embraced by which, Islamic principles on environment has
something to offer for a meaningful change and development.

References
[1] Zobair B S 2012 Inventory of Avifaunal Species in the Lakeshore and Riparian Ecosystems of
Lake Dapao Lanao del Sur. Undergraduate thesis. College of Forestry and Environmental
Studies. Mindanao State University
[2] Pangcat D M 2014 Terminal Report on the implementation of lake Dapao-Mount Baya
Ecotourism Project. PAMANA Program, DENR-ARMM, CENRO 11-B Malabang, Lanao
del Sur
[3] Colina A L 2017 “Climate change, plantations threaten Liguasan Mars”, Minda News.
http://www.mindanews.com/environment. Access date May 7, 2019
[4] MindaNOW Sulug 2014 “Ecotourism projects eyed for Tawi-Tawi’s Turtle Islands” January-Jun
2(1) 3
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[6] Miller A 2012 Ecotourism Development in Costa Rica: The Search for Oro Verde, Lexington
Books, Plymouth, UK
[7] Singh A (ed) 2017 Disaster Law: Emerging Threshol ,Taylor & Francis, Park Square, Milton
Park, n.p
[8] Bricker K, Black R, Cottrell, S (eds) 2012 Sustainable Tourism and the Millennium Development
Goals Jones and Bartlett Learning, Burlington 77-86
[9] Japan International Cooperation Agency 2016 Japan Supports Mindanao Farmers
https://www.jica.go.jp/philippine/english/office/topics/news/170308.html Accessed date
May 19, 2019